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RIP Gary Arlington, underground comix hero (UPDATED)

UPDATE: This just in from Ron Turner: "Hello Friends. There will be a memorial for Gary this coming Tuesday at 11 AM at 225 Berry St. off 4th, very near the Giants ballpark and the Cal Train station. Hope to see you there. It is a modern Senior Center where Gary made his home. Bring stories and memories to share."

"San Francisco was the capitol of comix culture in the '60s and early '70s; and Gary Arlington's hole-in-the-wall shop was, for me, the capitol of San Francisco."

He was truly a fascinating character who supported local comics and art until the end, and influenced pop culture exponentially.

Turner wrote:

"Gary died last night in San Francisco. He had been living on his own in a nice subsidized apartment near the ball park. He had a motorized wheel chair and was out and about in SF. He had heart and circulatory problems that led to several hospital stays during the last decade. The comic community will remember Gary as founding the first comic book store in America, on 23rd st. in the Mission. I bought my first underground comic there in 1968. It was a hangout for all the early underground comic artists and fans. Services have not been announced as yet."

We'll update this post when we find out about services. Meanwhile, go out to your nearest comics bookstore and buy a bunch of indies in his honor!